Marking device



Nov. 9, 1948. J. s. cUsHMAN MARKING DEVICE 24 Sheets-Sheet E.

Filed July 14, 1944 zg. 7 f g5 30? 'A TTORNE Ys New.- 9, 1948. J. s.cUsHMAN .2,453,201

MARKING DEVICE Filed July 14, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

v BY IWT( A TTORN E YS Patented Nov. 9, 1948 s Para 'rg ortica,

MARKING DEVICEl JIes"S.-Gsh'inan,New York; N1. YiL-assignorto Cushman 8Denison Manufaf'cturingl.Company;l Inc'., -NeW-Yo'rk, Y., a corporation'ofiNewf Yforkf Appliati'fuly 14'; 1944", Serial No; 544,941

Thisu invention' relates' to' marking' devices; Various features of" theinvention'-are-particularly applicable to fountaint'ype" marking devicesfor marking with ink. For' convenience@ useA the' terni ink toincludeany 'liquid useful for mark 4 ing. A device embodying" my inventionm'aybe usedfor' marking' the'surface of any article which will receive'andi'retain theink', and' aniong such uses are marking shipping boxesand" cartons7 making signs and' notices, etc'.

Heretofore. marking.' devices have been made Whichfar-e in thegeneral'fo'rmoi a fountain pen, and which have employed highly'volatilequickdryriginks that are applied with a' wick-like nib element. Suchinks'are usually of`very low'vis'- cosity, and diiiiculty has beenexperienced in.` so regulating` the flow of' the ink as to keep the nibproperly supplied' but Without flooding. Additionally, such` markingdevices of vthe prior art have notfprovided iory the making of`adesirable number of diierent widths of lines, andthe nibsA used have notbeen desirably smooth acting, and have not possessed a desirably highdegree of firmness andy reliability.

A general vobjectof the presentiinvention islto improve marking` devicesof.' the type having a non-metallic nib and'v adapted forusingquickdrying.. ink.

Another. object* ofthe invention. is to prov-ide for marking devices animproved" non-metallic nib adapted for makingY marks or linesof'diierenty widths, and/or adapted for makingA a pluralty, ofycoordinated" marks or lines simultaneously.

Afiirthei" object' ofthe invention is! to provide simple and improvedregulationl of" the flow of ink from the fountain or reservoir of themarking device to the marking portion ofthe nib or the like.

Further objects, andobjects relatingto details and economies ofconstruction and use will more denitely appear from the detaileddescription to follow.

Invthe claims,as Well as inthe descriptiomparts are identified byspecific names'for convenience, butsuch nomenclature is intended: tobeas generic, in its. application to analogous parts, as the priorartW-illpermit. The best formi in Which I- have contemplated applying myinvention is illustrated'in the accompanying drawings form-y ing a par-tof this-application infwhich:

}3'l,, ,.y lis an elevation of amarking device-With the dust-capinprot'ective position. `n this view' thenib"pointsdownwardly, but'itWill be'und'er-- 2 stood that the' devicel will'A ordinarily" becarried@ with the nib" pointing upwardly.

Fig. Zis a longitudinal section takenfin generali on theI lineZ-Z ofFig; 1.

Fig. 2AA is a detailA View, longitudinal sec`- tion; showing7 theattachment'k of tlieW frontA e'rid5 structurel to' the barrel; i

Fig. 3 is a detailsection'V on tlie'lineSL-iof Fig. 2'.

Figs. 4; 5; and 6' are'perspe'ctiv'e vievvssh'owirig" three' specific'forms of; nib's for incorporation in tn'emarkingdevice'shown'inFigs 1';2l and 3".'

Figs. "land 8"ar`e fragmeritaryplan vievvs4 shov`fing additionalforrnsfo'f nibswhi'chm'ay'beused in the' structure" sh'ovvn in" Figs. 1,2` and 3.

Figs. 9, 10, 1'1', 1'2, 13, 14, 15 and' 16" aremore" orless diagrammaticviews illustrating" the' mak? ingtof variousiines, and combinations oflines; with various' specliic formsof nibs.

Reference'will'rst be' hadt'oFi'gs: 1', 2;' andrai The marking deviceincludes a' barrel designatedA as a whole byzh a front' end" structuredesignated' asa: wroleby 21, e'. nib' designated' asJa" W'ldole" by 22;'and'4 a protective' capdesignate'dat a Wholeby 2'31 One' end of thebarrell) is'closed by an end'vvalll, and the otherend'of'the barrel"receives the front endstructure' 2'1" Wliichzm'a'ybe. threaded into4the' barrel.v A`s shown' in Eig; 2A, a' gasket 25 may be used to sealthefrontendZl' to the barrel 20, this gasket beingcornpressedlb'etween' theen'd) ofbarrel Z'UJa'n'dari annular ledge on the front endstructure 2'ILBy. uns'crevving;y the front end 2i, the barrel maybe lled with ink l1,after which the front" end is replaced.

The protective cap` 23', when' mounted on the' front end ofthe markingdevice as shown in Figs. l and 2, acts-not only',A as a dust-cap toprotectthe nib from' dust, butalso as a Closure to pre-l ventevaporation of the ink. The cap 2'3 may' conveniently make a telescopicfriction twith thefront end of the barrel 2U', being readily removable`for. telescopicV mounting on the other end ofv thebarrel when' themarking device is to be used.. An alternative. arrangement' isft'oprovide screvv'threaded engagement between the cap 23` and'thefront endof the barrel, with either.V telescopic or screw threaded engagementof'the cap with the. other end of the barrel'.v

The/barrel 2i), the front end2`1', and` the cap 2-3 may be made of anymaterial, having suicient strength and rigidity, that is suicientlyinerttothe ink. For the quickLd'rying' inkswhich I have" employed', I havefound aluminum satis` factory for these three" parts', but other `metalsmay be used; and nommetallic materials such as hard rubber, plastics,resin, etc., may also be used.

The nib is made of resilient material which is compressible andabsorbent. I have found nibs cut from thick sheets of hard felt to besatisfactory. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the nib 22 has a front endportion or body 30 which is homogeneous with a square shank portion 3|of lesser cross-section area than that of body 30. The shank 3| isadapted to be forcibly telescoped through restricted tubular portion 3-2of front end structure 2| and to extend throughout the length ofenlarged tubular portion 33 of such front end structure. The front endelement 2| has a terminal wall |9 provided with a small hole 34 leadingto the ink reservoir 35 that is formed in barrel 20. The free end of nibshank 3| abuts against the end wall I9, covering the hole 34. Thecross-sectional size of shank 3|, in relation to the cross-sectionalsize of the restricted tubular portion 32 of the front end duct, is suchthat the corners of the shank are compressed when the shank is insertedinto the duct. This places the corner portions of the shank in slightlyimpacted relationship with portion 32 of the duct, leaving between thecorners of the shank longitudinal lines 36 of superficial contactbetween the shank and duct portion 32.

In use, the ink passes by gravity through hole 34 and sulfuses bycapillarity through the entire nib 22. To permit this action tocontinue, air must be allowed to replace the ink withdrawn fromreservoir 35. This takes place by air passing along the lines 3,6 ofsuperficial contact beshank 3| and the wall |9 is preferably such as torprevent flooding of the ink into space 31, but this contact is not sotight as to prevent air working its way, as required, past the end ofshank- 3| and through hole 34 in the reservoir 35. The air present inspace '31 is available for prompt influx into reservoir 35 to releaseink with the rapidity required for making heavy marking strokes. Thismay result in temporary impoverishment of the air supply within thespace 31 but such impoverishmeni-l is overcome within a short time bycontinued slow flow of outside air along flow lines 36 to the space 31.

'Ihe terminal marking portion of the nib 22 may have a variety of shapessuch as shown in Figs. 4 through 8. In Fig` l the body 39 of the nib hasa marking end in the form of a rectangle. This rectangle has ends 4|,4|, and sides 42, 42. In Fig. 5 the body 30a is similar to that shown inFig. 4 but the terminal marking portion is interrupted by a longitudinalnotch 43. In Fig. 6 the body 30h has the form produced by chamfering at44 a marking end such as shown in Fig. 4. In Fig. '1 the body 30e isnotched at 45 and chamfered at 46. In Fig. 8 the body 39d is notchedwith a plurality of notches 41 (3 shown) When the marking device isprovided with a nib having the specific form shown in Fig. 4, it may beused for making marks or lines having a variety of widths, includingwidths such as shown in Figs. 9, 13, 15, and 16. Fig. 9 shows a wideline 5G .being made with a side 42 of the rectangular marking end incontact with the surface to be marked. Fig. 13 shows a line 5| of mediumwidth being made with an end 4| of the rectangular marking end incontact with the surface. Fig. 15 shows a relatively narrow `line 52being made with an end 4| of the rectangle in contact with the surface,but in this case the nib is being moved in a direction parallel to thelength of end 4| instead of transversely thereto as in Fig. 13. Fig. 16shows a quite narrow line -53 being made with merely a corner such as 54in contact with the surface.

Fig. 10 shows how a nib such as shown in Fig. 5 may be used` tosimultaneously draw a relatively wide line 55 and a relatively narrowline 56, the two lines being separated by a space of substantiallyconstant width 51. As shown in Fig. 11, a nib such as that of Fig. '1may be used to draw similarly related lines 58 and 59. In this case, thechamfering of the nib at 46 reduces the width of the wider of the twolines. This same nib may also be used to draw various other lines,including a single line of moderate width made by placing the chamferedportion 46 in contact with the surface to be marked.

Fig. 12 shows a single wide line 60 being drawn with a nib such as shownin Fig. 6. In this case the forwardmost face of the nib is placed incontact with the surface to be marked. A single line of lesser width maybe drawn with the same nib by placing the chamfered face 44 in contactwith the surface to be marked. Fig. 14 shows the drawing of a pluralityof relatively narrow -parallel lines 48 (four shown) with a nib such asshown in Fig. 8.

It is believed that the illustrations given as to specific forms of nibsand the widths and combinations of lines that may be drawn with them aresufficient to illustrate the multiplicity of widths and combinations oflines that may be drawn with a device of the present invention. Noattempt has been made to illustrate all of the different lines that maybe drawn withy each individual nib, nor has any attempt been made toillustrate all of the specific forms of nibs contemplated by the presentinvention. While'the drawing of straight lines has been shown in Figs. 9through 16, it will be realized that the lines may be curved,discontinuous, etc. as is desirable in forming letters or numerals,drawing figures; maps, posters, etc.

Having described my invention, I claim:

l. A marking device, comprising: a reservoir for receiving a quantity ofmarking fluid and pro-l vided With an elongated cylindrical duct throughywhich said iluid may be withdrawn, a nib element of hard felt throughwhich the marking fluid suffuses by capllarity, said nib element havinga terminal marking portion for movement in contact with the surface ofan article to be marked and having a rectangular shank disposed in saidduct and along which air passes to the reservoir as fluid is withdrawntherefrom, at least a portion of the length of the shank being aductengaging portion which has its corners in frictional,slightly-impacted relationship with said duct, thereby providing betweenthe corners of the shank longitudinal lines of superficial contactbetween the shank and the duct and along which the air passes toward thereservoir.

2. A marking device, comprising: a reservoir for receiving a quantity ofmarking fluid and provided with an elongated duct through whichv saidiluid may be withdrawn, a nib element of compressible absorbent materialthrough which the marking fluid sulfuses by capillarity, said nibelement having a terminal marking portion for movement in contact withthe surface of an article to be marked and -having a shank disposed insaid duct and along which air passes to the reservoir as fluid iswithdrawn therefrom, at least a portion of the length of the shank beinga ductengaging portion which is in frictional slightlyimpactedrelationship with said duct, said ductengaging portion of the shankhaving a crosssectional shape different from that of the engaged portionof the duct and providing thereby at least one longitudinal line ofsuperficial contact between the shank and the duct and along which theair passes toward the reservoir.

3. A marking device, comprising: a reservoir for receiving a quantity ofmarking fluid and provided with an elongated cylindrical duct throughwhich said fluid may be withdrawn, a nib element of resilient absorbentmaterial through which the marking fluid suffuses by capillarity, saidnib element having a terminal marking portion for movement in contactwith the surface of an article to be marked and having a shank ofpolygonal cross section disposed in said duct and along which air passesto the reservoir as fluid is withdrawn therefrom, at least a portion ofthe length of the shank being a duct-engaging portion which is infrictional, slightly-impacted relationship with said duct and therebyproviding longitudinal lines of superficial contact between the shankand the duct and along which the air passes toward the reservoir.

4. A marking device as in claim 2, in which the engaged portion 0f theduct is of reduced cross section, and the duct includes an enlargedairspace portion between its engaged portion and the reservoir.

g5 Number 5. A marking device as in claim 2, in which the engagedportion of the duct is of reduced cross section and is spaced from thereservoir, the bottom of the reservoir is provided with a perforation,the duct includes an enlarged airspace portion adjacent to thereservoir, the nib shank extends through the air-space portion, and theend of the shank lies against the bottom of the reservoir and covers theperforation therein.

6. A marking device as in claim 2, in which the engaged portion of theduct is of reduced cross section and is spaced from the reservoir, theduct includes an enlarged air-space portion adjacent to the reservoir,and the nib shank extends through the airspace portion, the bottom ofthe reservoir being adapted to feed fluid to the end portion of said nibshank.

JAMES S. CUSHMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Gunn Nov. 2, 1909 Garvey Mar. 18, 1919Buehrer June 16, 1925 Wood July 31, 1934 Lunzer Nov. 2, 1937 RissmanJan. 10, 1939

